Varietal: White Vinifera Grapes

Most home winemakers have limits on their winemaking space, equipment, cellar capacity or the ability of their liver to keep up. If you are one of those who has to pick and

One of the things that makes wine irresistible is the endless variety: every grape, every region, every vintage, every bottle tastes a little different from the last. And so while there is

Unknown to the science at the time, these genetic mutations were first noticed hundreds of years ago in Burgundy, France, where the mutants grew side by side, and sometimes within the same plant as Pinot Noir.

Sounds tasty to me! I love a dry (or even off-dry, maybe with residual sugar of around 5 g/L), crisp Muscat wine. Historically, Muscats have been used in many wine types, from

I was particularly drawn to Torrontés because of the Muscat-like flavors, but another reason was because of the challenge it presents from a winemaking perspective . . .

Pinot Grigio is everywhere, flooding every supermarket wine aisle and all over the wine lists at restaurants that don’t give much thought to their wine lists. It’s the single biggest (by volume)

Pinot Blanc — one of the offspring of Pinot Noir — is waiting for its 15 minutes of fame to come around.

Albariño/Alvarinho is the grape of the Spanish region of Galacia, and it’s catching on in the States too.

Prior to giving way to Riesling at the turn of the century, Müller-Thurgau was the most prominent white grape in Germany. It is still very popular as an everyday drinking wine enjoyed young.

Muscat is a complex family of grapes with a distinctive aroma tying them all together. There are hundreds of Muscat varieties, both white and red, which are used to make all styles of wine.

Symphony is a white grape bred from Muscat of Alexandria and Grenache Gris by Dr. Harold Olmo. Grown in California, Symphony grapes are found in many wine kits.

There are many different techniques and styles to choose from when it comes to Chardonnay. Do you want a buttery, barrel-aged Chardonnay or a crisp, acidic one? When weighing your options, use

I am writing this on an airplane on my way to Burgundy, the crossroads of France known for its great Chardonnay and Pinot Noir wines. But did you know that Burgundy has

American wine consumers tend to believe if a white wine has been bottled then it is ready to drink. But not all white wines are meant to only be enjoyed young. Let us introduce you to Sémillon.

In the 1960s, Viognier seemed to be an endangered grape, planted only in dwindling numbers in a pair of obscure redoubts in France, the shrinking Condrieu region and the one-winery Château-Grillet AOC.

Chardonnay is one of the world’s most popular wine grapes, as evidenced by widespread plantings in France, Australia, South Africa, South America and the United States. The grape is thought to have

German wines, particularly great German Rieslings, are unlike any other wines in the world, with unmatched fruit intensity, striking minerality and remarkable aging potential. Once you’re hooked, you’re hooked, and soon the

In her exhaustive survey of grapes and grapegrowing, Vines, Grapes and Wines, Jancis Robinson ends the chapter on Riesling with a summary that’s all-too-true: “Unbeatable quality; indisputably aristocratic. Ludicrously unfashionable.” Recognized by

Like the proverbial little girl with the curl, when it’s good, Gewürztraminer is very good; but when it’s bad, it’s awful. This noble white variety with the pinkish grapes can produce spectacular

A phrase we’ve often heard in recent years is, “A. B. C. — anything but Chardonnay.”  As many consumers set down the Chard and start searching for alternative white wines — and

During the mid 1980s in New Zealand, when the Cloudy Bay Winery captured the attention of the world marketplace with its version of Sauvignon Blanc, a new era was born. Today, many

Why make a wine you can’t even pronounce? If you’ve ever tasted a Gewürztraminer, you already know the answer. At its finest, this most distinctive white wine has an exotic, spicy flavor